| Space Is Still the Place | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by The Bright Light Social Hour | ||||
| Released | March 10, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | June 2013 – January 2014 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, indie rock, synth-pop, house, blues rock | |||
| Length | 45:28 | |||
| Label | Frenchkiss Records, MapleMusic Recordings | |||
| Producer | The Bright Light Social Hour | |||
| The Bright Light Social Hour chronology | ||||
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Space Is Still the Place is the second full-length album by The Bright Light Social Hour. It was released on March 10, 2015 via Frenchkiss Records (worldwide) and MapleMusic Recordings (Canada).
Concept
The band has stated the album was largely inspired by staying with fans while touring in the Southern United States, as well as by concepts of Afrofuturism and progressivism.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, O'Brien stated, "We became really interested in mixing southern aspects of music – soul, rock, blues, those sort of things – with a progressive outlook, where we got really into dance music, house music, techno, psychedelic rock. We became really interested in mixing all those sounds; something future-looking and also vibe-y and comfortable, but different all together."
The album title is inspired by Sun Ra's 1974 film Space Is the Place.
Recording and release
The album was recorded between June 2013, and January 2014, at the band's home in Austin, Texas. It was mixed by the band and Chris Coady in New York, NY in May 2014.
On January 20, 2015 the band announced via The Huffington Post Space Is Still The Place would be released March 10, 2015 on Frenchkiss Records.
On February 17, 2015, Jay Z's Life+Times premiered the music video for their first single, "Infinite Cities", directed by bassist/singer Jack O'Brien.
Songs from Space Is Still the Place have been featured in HBO's Vice Principals, MTV's Teen Wolf, Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The CW's Riverdale, NBC's Midnight, Texas, Audience's Kingdom, USA's Shooter, Hulu's Shut Eye, Terrence Malick's 2017 film Song to Song, Ubisoft's Far Cry 5 and a Nintendo Switch commercial.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Glide Magazine |   |
| The Austin Chronicle | |
| Pop-Break | 8.5/10 |
| Vinyl Mag | 5/5 |
Space Is Still the Place was released to critical acclaim, described by AllMusic's Mark Deming as "an ambitious and wildly entertaining journey into the minds of the men who created it" and "a smart, fearless work from a band whose inner journey is paying impressive musical dividends."
Track listing
All tracks are written by Curtis Roush, Jack O'Brien and Joseph Mirasole
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sweet Madelene" | 5:43 |
| 2. | "Slipstream" | 2:56 |
| 3. | "Dreamlove" | 5:05 |
| 4. | "Ghost Dance" | 2:35 |
| 5. | "Sea of the Edge" | 3:50 |
| 6. | "Aperture" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Ouroboros" | 4:29 |
| 8. | "Infinite Cities" | 4:42 |
| 9. | "The Moon" | 3:15 |
| 10. | "Escape Velocity" | 8:13 |
| Total length: | 45:28 | |
Personnel
The personnel of Space Is Still the Place according to the liner notes of the album's LP release:
- Jack O'Brien – bass, vocals, Roland Juno-60
- Curtis Roush – guitar, vocals, Minimoog Voyager, Roland Juno-60, Wurlitzer
- Joseph Mirasole – drums, Dave Smith Tempest, Elektron Analog Four, Minimoog Voyager
Technical personnel:
- Joseph Mirasole, Curtis Roush, Jack O'Brien - production, engineering
- Chris Coady - mixing engineer
- Greg Calbi - mastering
- Mariano Peccinetti - artwork
References
- "The Bright Light Social Hour". Maplemusicrecordings.com. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- "Frenchkiss Records". Frenchkissrecords.com. 2015-03-10. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- ^ "The Bright Light Social Hour's 'Space Is Still The Place' Lays Out The Foundation For The 'Future South'". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
- "Life+Times Video Premiere: The Bright Light Social Hour "Infinite Cities" | Life+Times". Lifeandtimes.com. 2015-02-17. Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
- "Brooklyn Nine-Nine Music – S3e20: "Paranoid"; TuneFind". tunefind.com. 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- "The Bright Light Social Hour – Ghost Dance | Teen Wolf 5x06 Music ; YouTube". Youtube.com. 2015-07-22. Archived from the original on 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- "Vice Principals Music – S2e01: "Tiger Town"; TuneFind". tunefind.com. 2017-09-17. Archived from the original on 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Die Antwoord, Lykke Li & All The Music In Terrence Malick's 'Song To Song'; The Playlist". theplaylist.com. 2017-03-08. Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
- Mark Deming (2015-03-10). "Space Is Still the Place – The Bright Light Social Hour | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- Ferguson, Maeri. "The Bright Light Social Hour – Space Is Still the Place". Glidemagazine.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- Jim Caligiuri (2015-04-03). "Review: Bright Light Social Hour – Music". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- Osifchin, Chris. "The Bright Light Social Hour: Space Is Still the Place". Pop-break.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- Greenfield, Morgan (5 March 2015). "The Bright Light Social Hour: Space Is Still the Place". Vinylmag.org. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "AllMusic Review: The Bright Light Social Hour's 'Space Is Still the Place' by Mark Deming". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2015-06-15.